October Digest (2024): New Clergy Abuse Research Findings + Secondary Survivors Speak
Discover new insights from research on adult clergy sexual abuse emerging from Australia plus learn about the impact on secondary survivors.
In This Edition:
New Research: “Broken, Shattered, and Spiritually Battered” Groomed: Pastors who Prey on Adult Congregation Members #ChurchToo
New research emerging from Australia results in a new framework to help understand the process and impact of adult clergy sexual abuse.
Spouses of Clergy Sexual Misconduct Survivors: Both Patient and Physician
A sociologist and secondary survivor highlights the often-overlooked impact of clergy sexual misconduct on secondary survivors, who may serve as both supporters of primary survivors and individuals facing their own trauma, calling for more research and peer support to aid in recovery.
Video: Secondary Survivors Discuss the Impact of Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse on Partners
Secondary survivors speak about their experiences supporting their spouses who endured adult clergy sexual abuse and institutional betrayal.
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Content Warning: Contains references to sexual abuse and spiritual abuse.
Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
Since its inception earlier this year, CSM Research Insights has aimed to bridge academia, survivor experiences, and expert perspectives on clergy sexual misconduct (CSM). Watching this vision come to life with each edition has been a pleasure. The growing interest in adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA) research, especially post-#MeToo and #ChurchToo, is equally encouraging:
I’m thrilled to share that funding is now being directed toward studying institutional betrayal in religious settings, with The Center for Institutional Courage, founded by Dr. Jennifer Freyd, supporting research on the impact of institutional betrayal and DARVO on survivors of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse. We look forward to sharing the findings.
In this fourth-quarter issue, we highlight new research on ACSA from Australia, focusing on Evangelical and Pentecostal Christian Faith Communities (EPCF). Researcher Jaime Simpson introduces her innovative framework for understanding ACSA and emphasizes the urgent need for future research on its impact on secondary survivors.
Sociologist Dr. Jason Martin explores the experiences of secondary survivors in his article, drawing from personal insights and advocating for further study. Lastly, we include a video featuring Dr. Martin and secondary survivors and advocates discussing the impact of ACSA with Dr. David Pooler, a leading U.S. researcher in the field.
We extend our deepest thanks to the respondents who participated in Jaime’s study, who courageously shared their experiences to deepen our understanding of this harmful issue. We offer our gratitude to the secondary survivors who, alongside their spouses, have endured the pain of institutional betrayal. May your stories stir the hearts of religious leaders and inspire them to implement policies that safeguard those entrusted to their spiritual care.
We encourage readers to share this digest with religious leaders, who are essential in recognizing abuse and promoting accountability. Research like this is pivotal in advancing the conversation around ACSA and preventing future abuses of power.
Best regards,
T.P. Zamora
Editor, CSM Research Insights
New Research: “Broken, Shattered, and Spiritually Battered” Groomed: Pastors who Prey on Adult Congregation Members #ChurchToo
New research emerging from Australia results in a new framework to help understand the process and impact of adult clergy sexual abuse.
In January 2024, CSM Research Insights highlighted a study underway by counselor and researcher Jaime Simpson to earn her Master of Philosophy (MPhil) at Queensland University of Technology in the School of Justice within Creative Industries, Education, and Social Justice. We circulated Simpson’s call for respondents—those who experienced adult clergy sexual abuse within Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian Faith Communities (EPCFC) in Australia. The results are in.
In this interview, Simpson shares the findings of her exploratory study, which was based on the accounts of thirty-three respondents (thirty-two women and one gender-fluid person). Salient findings include:
The average age of victim-survivors at the time of perpetration was 24 years old. They were more likely to be in the 18-25-year-old age group, more likely to be single, highly active in their faith community, and seeking spiritual counseling or mentoring support at the time of sexual victimization.
Perpetrators were all male, averaging 39 years old, with an average age gap of 15 years older than the victim. The pastor was more likely to be married.
The pastors operated in dual professional and therapeutic roles, such as spiritual advisors, counselors, and the respondent’s boss or father figure, creating a significant power imbalance.
The years of perpetration ranged from the 1980s to the present day.
The survivor was more likely to have come from a religious background in their childhood and received traditional messages regarding respecting authority, gender, purity, and sexuality.
The following is my compelling conversation with Simpson, who writes regularly at Jaime’s Substack.
Jaime Simpson is a qualified counselor (ACA level 4), victim services counselor, counseling supervisor (RiseUp), intercultural trainer, author, and academic consultant, completing her Master of Philosophy (MPhil) at Queensland University of Technology in the School of Justice within Creative Industries, Education, and Social Justice.
T.P. Zamora: What were your research questions, and how was your study designed to address them?
Jaime Simpson: The research questions for this project were (1) What are the common grooming patterns and tactics that pastors in a position of power in EPCFCs engage in to pursue adult congregation members (ACM) for sexual purposes? (2) What are the impacts on the ACMs’ overall well-being (spiritual, physical, psychological, relational, financial, emotional)?
To answer these questions, the survey was structured around several key themes: (1) common grooming tactics, (2) patterns of perpetrator behaviors and coercion, (3) features of sexual harassment, (4) professional sexual boundary violations, (5) impacts on ACMs’ well-being and (6) institutional responses on disclosure.
I enjoyed creating the survey questions. Due to the limited research in this area, no established measures could be directly utilized for survey design or data collection to address the research question. The survey was designed based on various published research studies on sexual coercion, sexual harassment, frameworks of power and control, and adult sexual grooming and its impacts.
Zamora: What findings surprised you?
Simpson: The survey was designed for all genders, who, from the age of 18 years old, had been on the receiving end of pastor sexual misconduct in their faith community – by either a male or female pastor. This included sexual harassment, sexual grooming, or sexual abuse. However, no male victims responded to the survey. Yet, we know in the media of cases where members of the clergy groom older teenagers and men. The stigma for men may be potentially more significant than it is for women in speaking out, especially if they have been groomed for sexual purposes by a same-sex pastor. All respondents noted their pastor or leader was male. No female pastors or leaders were noted. However, to get a full understanding of sexual violence in faith communities, I hope that someone does put their attention to researching adult male victims of abuse and the potential of female perpetration where there is a power imbalance involved.
As someone who works in the domestic family violence space, I found it interesting to see just how closely the grooming tactics and the post-abuse maintenance tactics align with the research on coercive controlling tactics seen in intimate partner relationships. This makes sense when we consider the church functions as a family unit.
Though each respondent’s situation is individual and needs to be seen as a personal experience of harm, collectively, the respondents’ experiences were all so similar—it appears that the pastor and the institutional response operate off the same script, their own harmful handbook.
Zamora: I’ve heard that phrase often in response to adult clergy sexual abuse. “It’s like they have the same handbook.” There’s consistency in the scholarship that leaders need to know to spot red flags and label abuse correctly. Based on your research findings, what new best practices would you recommend to religious leaders?
Simpson: We need to change the script and the handbook! Much harm came to the victim-survivors when they tried to report. Best practices would include having external governance, trauma-informed support workers, and an advocate who walks through the disclosure process with the victim-survivor. Churches need to be trained in the dynamics of abuse and how to respond effectively to allegations of abuse. They need to create referral pathways and offer external counseling support for all those involved in the investigation. We need safer, stricter, greater governance in place.
Clergy have multiple roles, often operating in very similar roles to counselors, psychologists, teachers, and other helping professionals. These industries in Australia are highly regulated. You can’t just name yourself a psychologist. There are standards of academic qualifications, codes of conduct, external supervision requirements, and ongoing professional development.
If I wanted to make a complaint about a psychologist, there is an external governing board I could make a complaint to. If that complaint were regarding the professional perpetrating sexual misconduct of a client, there would likely be a tribunal that would result in sanctions. This is the type of governance we need in faith communities. We need to hold our clergy and governing board to professional standards, as we do with other professionals. Actually, they should be held to a higher standard! They are meant to represent God.
Zamora: I agree. Why shouldn’t clergy be held to higher standards than other helping professionals who must adhere to basic ethical codes or lose their licenses? I am thankful that in the U.S., this is recognized in 13 states and D.C., where adult clergy sexual abuse is currently criminalized. The new framework you developed helps explain why this abuse should be criminalized. Tell me about your framework and how it developed.
Simpson: Various themes in the data were identified, which resulted in the development of a visual framework I named “Pastor Sexual Exploitation of Adult Congregation Members: Grooming Tactics, Sexual Victimisation, and Post-Abuse Maintenance Tactics.” This framework reveals the specific institutional messages and tactics pastors employ to groom adult congregation members for sexual purposes, also highlighting how power and control over the adult congregation members are sustained within Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith communities in Australia.
With further testing and refinement, the framework may be used to educate, discover, and deter perpetration in faith communities. The research indicates pastors employed a range of spiritual, therapeutic, romantic, psychological, emotional, and institutional manipulation tactics to establish a connection with their targeted congregation members. These tactics were tailored to exploit specific vulnerabilities or needs of the congregation member, making the sexual coercion highly personalized and effective.
The effectiveness of these tactics lies in their ability to operate together, gradually eroding the victim’s sense of autonomy and resistance and resulting in compliance and entrapment. The research also highlights the profound impact of sexual exploitation on the overall well-being of the congregation members, demonstrating that it results in feelings of entrapment and extensive emotional, psychological, physical, financial, relational, and spiritual harm being inflicted upon them.
Zamora: You are doing difficult and important work. What was the research process like, and what was the most challenging aspect of the process?
Simpson: The research process was extensive. Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, creating the research proposal and a trauma-informed survey and recruitment procedure that passed ethics requirements was a rigorous process. Thankfully, I did end up passing.
The most difficult aspect of the research process was engagement from others in terms of sharing the call for respondents. This topic is still very much misunderstood, and engagement from faith communities and friends within faith communities was limited. I think for some people, there is a genuine fear that if you are seen to align with people researching sensitive topics that relate to the institution of the church, then you may be seen as someone who is “pulling down” the Church.
I spent a lot of time reassuring people that my goal is to create safer communities, and to do so, we need to understand what makes the church unsafe. A pastor pursuing or sexually harassing a congregation member is not a safe community to be part of. The language of adult clergy sexual abuse is not yet used in Australia. We have no clergy adult sexual grooming laws in place to protect anyone above the age of 18.
The largest Pentecostal governing body in Australia, The Australian Christian Churches, names sexual misconduct “improper conduct,” which contributes to the narrative that a pastor who engages in sexual acts with a congregation member is involved in a consensual relationship and is immoral but not necessarily seen as abusive.
Due to their age (18+), survivors of adult clergy sexual abuse have often been told their sexual victimization was consensual. This research has provided language that frames pastor sexual misconduct with adult congregation members as sexual coercion and sexual exploitation, situating their experience under the umbrella of gender-based sexual violence.
Zamora: What is next for you in terms of advocacy and research?
Simpson: The research underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing clergy sexual misconduct, advocating for stronger regulatory frameworks and accountability measures within religious institutions. So, one of my key focuses is building a team of people who want to advocate for stricter governance in Australian faith communities.
In terms of research, I have so many ideas. First, I aim to explore post-traumatic growth in survivors of adult clergy sexual abuse. Specifically, I want to identify the factors that facilitate healing, recovery, and reintegration into the broader community. I think it would be essential to provide an opportunity for spouses of clergy to provide a space for them to share their experiences of betrayal.
I would hypothesize that the same post-abuse maintenance tactics being employed on the victim are being employed in the home on spouses as well. Providing a platform for spouses and potentially children, and the spouses of victims to also share their experiences of harm, we could start to put together a full picture of how adult clergy sexual abuse has an incredible ripple effect on the community at large.
Zamora: Jaime, thank you for your incredible service to religious communities by undertaking this crucial study. It’s an honor to interview you and share your research findings in CSM Research Insights. Before we close, do you have anything else you want to share regarding your research?
Simpson: I am incredibly grateful for those who shared the survey and for those who had the courage to share their story. I hope I have honored their story. I hope that it amplifies their voices and propels the conversation about adult clergy sexual abuse forward.
Jaime Simpson’s study, “Broken, Shattered, and Spiritually Battered” Groomed: Pastors who Prey on Adult Congregation Members #ChurchToo will be available on QUTe-prints after passing examination. Her study will also be featured in the research section of ClergySexualMisconduct.com.
Spouses of Clergy Sexual Misconduct Survivors: Both Patient and Physician
A sociologist and secondary survivor highlights the often-overlooked impact of clergy sexual misconduct on secondary survivors, who may serve as both supporters of primary survivors and individuals facing their own trauma, calling for more research and peer support to aid in recovery.
By Jason Martin, Ph.D.
“Secondary survivors” of clergy sexual misconduct (CSM) refer to the friends, family members, or partners of someone who has experienced CSM. While there is a small but growing body of research on the scourge of clergy sexual misconduct, also known as adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA), and its traumatic impact on survivors, there is very little research or commentary on the specific impacts of abuse on secondary survivors and their integral support role for primary survivors.
This article focuses specifically on the spouses and their complicated role as both a key supporter of their spouse and a deeply wounded casualty of the abuse and, in most cases, a flawed institutional response, resulting in secondary victimization. This article aims to provide reflections based on firsthand experience in the secondary survivor peer support community and call for more in-depth, systematic research into the topic.
Primary and Secondary Survivors
Much of what we learn from research on primary survivors and primary trauma applies in the context of secondary survivors. However, unique dynamics and particular complexities for survivor spouses warrant deeper investigation. To be clear, focusing on survivor spouses should never diminish or distract from primary survivors as the focus in the fight for the prevention and redress of CSM in the church. On the contrary, understanding and supporting survivor spouses is an important avenue for healing and restoration in the lives and families of primary survivors.
Dual Roles
Survivor spouses typically grapple with the firsthand trauma resulting from clergy and institutional betrayal. Some also do this while serving as their spouse’s primary support person. While no two trauma recovery journeys are alike, the complexity of these simultaneous roles presents a unique set of pitfalls and challenges for the secondary survivor.
Agency and Restraint
There is no question that survivor spouses necessarily navigate their own journey of recovery and healing from trauma and clergy/institutional betrayal. While every experience is unique, most survivor spouses navigate a careful balance of agency and restraint as they walk their path. Though they have their own stories of hurt and betrayal, these are inextricably intertwined with the betrayal their partner endured. As such, any expression of agency, such as speaking out, sharing their story, advocating, confronting leaders, etc., may positively or negatively impact their partners.
Moreover, survivor spouse actions may inadvertently co-opt, interfere with, or otherwise obscure their partners’ agency or narrative. Since the healing journey inevitably includes both individual and teamwork, with periodically converging and diverging paths, both couples and individual therapy is often ideal for survivor spouses hoping to navigate this precarious path with wisdom and care.
The Institution as Unrepentant Partner
Though couples therapy is essential for restoring the marital relationship, it was the clergyperson—and often the institution—that betrayed the survivor, the survivor’s spouse, and the church community. As such, no amount of couples therapy can redress that betrayal. While apologies and requests for forgiveness from clergy and the institution may be offered in some cases, true repentance – or turning – requires a much more significant shift and a commitment to placing the well-being of those harmed before the interests of the institution.
Because churches tend to protect institutional interests and be woefully unprepared to restore the relationships broken by the clergyperson’s actions, the harmful effects of the betrayal may fester even while the couple does the hard work of restoration and healing in their own relationship. For survivor spouses, the common outcome of disintegration of relationships with church leadership and the church community is but one factor that restricts their agency and reinforces their alienation.
Alienation and Support
As with survivors themselves, it can be very difficult for survivor spouses to seek helpful support among existing family and friend groups. Similar to other traumatic, life-changing events, time is forever divided between before and after abuse. Survivor spouses—along with their partners— typically embark on a long road of processing, learning, and understanding how clergy sexual abuse works, why it happens, how it happens, and where culpability lies.
The road to making sense of this very specific scourge, about which most people understand very little, inevitably alienates friends and family who may not understand or who may be open to understanding but require substantial explanation and coaching. It is understandable that many primary and secondary survivors choose not to initially share and explain within family and friend networks. Still, the resulting alienation and isolation may grow as time goes by without divulging the existence of a major life event.
Peer Support
As with survivors, survivor spouses potentially benefit greatly from a peer support community where they receive instant connection and understanding based on a similar experience of tragedy, betrayal, and heartbreak. Though no two journeys are exactly alike, peer support provides a platform for human connection and resonance where empathy and encouragement come from a place of true understanding.
For more information on joining a peer support group for secondary survivors of adult clergy sexual abuse, please reach out to acsasurvivor@gmail.com.
Jason Martin, Ph. D., is a social scientist, survivor spouse, whistleblower, and advocate for clergy sexual misconduct survivors. He is the author of Critical Reflections on Clericalism and Clergy Misconduct: A Sociological Approach in the Journal of Sociology and Christianity.
Video: Secondary Survivors Discuss the Impact of Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse on Partners
Secondary survivors speak about their experiences supporting their spouses who endured adult clergy sexual abuse and institutional betrayal.
Facilitated by Dr. David Pooler, a researcher and expert on adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA), this panel discussion, featured on Resist, Reform, and Restore: Transforming Faith, includes secondary survivors and Courage 365 CEO Ashley Easter.
Sponsors and resources referenced in this video are Baylor University Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse Advocacy & Research Collaborative, Courage 365, Restored Voices Collective (RVC), and Clergy Sexual Misconduct Information & Resources.
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T. P. Zamora, editor of CSM Research Insights and sociology student, explores power dynamics and abuse within religious institutions and its multi-faceted impact on survivors.
Thank you, Tiffany, the collective voices are rising. Thanks for sharing my call for respondents and for highlighting some of the results. I look forward to presenting the visual framework once my thesis is returned from examination.
Silent no more!
Jaime